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India: End of an era as Aditya Puri sells down at HDFC

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The managing director retires in October. RBI has three names to contemplate as his possible successor.

Aditya Puri has been one of the most successful and revered bankers ever to emerge from India. The HDFC managing director, who has been in charge of the bank for the 26 years since its foundation in 1994, has scarcely put a foot wrong in the frequently shifting Indian environment.

DBS chief Piyush Gupta is one of many who has considered him a mentor.

Aditya Puri, HDFC

Due to retire after his 70th birthday in October, it’s clear that Puri’s mind is already on his exit, as he sold the vast majority of his shares in the lender in July: 7.4 million of his 7.8 million shares, for Rp8.43 billion ($113 million).

With Puri on his way out, attention turns to his replacement. Three names have been sent to the Reserve Bank of India for approval as potential successors.

Two are internal – CFO Sashidhar Jagdishan and wholesale banking head Kaizad Bharucha – and the third is Sunil Garg, chief executive of Citi Commercial Bank, according to LiveMint.